


Livin' All That Wasted Time

by sparkle-fingers (sundayrain26)



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Mutual Pining, Reminiscing, So slight infidelity warning, Song fic, kind of, married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:48:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22359010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sundayrain26/pseuds/sparkle-fingers
Summary: Sherri (ChibiTabatha) compared this to a nice dark chocolate and I love it. Thanks for helping me out when I was overthinking my directional predicament.Inspired by parts ofWasted Timeby Keith UrbanI also pulled a really nice line from his songFaster Car
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	Livin' All That Wasted Time

**Author's Note:**

> Sherri (ChibiTabatha) compared this to a nice dark chocolate and I love it. Thanks for helping me out when I was overthinking my directional predicament.
> 
> Inspired by parts of [Wasted Time](https://youtu.be/PMqUat-Oqsk) by Keith Urban
> 
> I also pulled a really nice line from his song [Faster Car](https://youtu.be/HMND2a-kedY)

The sound of rain pattering on the window tickles at the back of his mind, growing until his attention is pulled to the window. There had been mention of a storm today. Rhett takes the opportunity to lean back and stretch his long limbs. When he cranes his head to check on Link, he's not surprised to see the man still utterly engrossed in his work. His lip quirks and he turns back to his screen. A glance at the time has him looking again. Surely it's not nearly 7 pm. He shouldn't be surprised; they're pushing it with this project and the deadline is inching ever closer.

He rubs his tired eyes and clicks at his screen. He's digging for one particular file when he stumbles over it. He can't remember what it's from but there's pictures of the two of them as kids. His eyes fall on one of them by his old Dynasty. Coupla kids lookin' for trouble. The Merle Link has playing on his computer compounds the nostalgia. A smile crookeds out his mouth.

He can see it just as vividly as when they were young. Friday night, nothing but the stars. Driving every back road in sight. Dirt and gravel crunching beneath the wheels in between paved sections of road. Windows wide open, music filling the car and pouring outside. Singing along with what some would say to be too much gusto.

Bright blue eyes shining like the moon on the Cape Fear River, piercing his soul.

A touch at his shoulder rips him back to the present. He startles a little, jerks his head to the side to look at Link. He's been caught years and miles away. Not the first time.

What's out of the ordinary is the sorrowful pull around his eyes. He can see the concern contorting Link's eyebrows.

"You okay, man?"

The scruff of his beard twitches. "Yeah I'm good. Just gettin' nostalgic." He gestures vaguely at the photograph on his screen.

Link's eyes crinkle fondly. "Whatcha thinkin' about?"

"How we'd just drive. Didn't matter where. Singin' like a coupla loons." His throat is just this side of tight and tingly and his voice catches. He knows his eyes are misty but he doesn't try to hide it.

A true smile now, wide and toothy. "I remember almost gettin' lost too many times with you."

Rhett huffs a gentle laugh, head swaying side to side. He's the epitome of soft, quiet and worked to the bone. "I always wonder if you ever think about it the way I do."

"I just told ya I do."

He can't censor himself, oozes wistfulness. "Can't be the same, bo."

There's silence and Rhett starts to think about what he's said, his heart thumping heavy and rapid. Before panic sets in, there's a hand covering his. He stares as it squeezes his. It's not until their fingers are carefully interlaced that he meets Link's eyes.

He shivers, air shaking free from his lungs. He finally has to blink and tears spill down into his beard. His chest heaves. "Link?"

Link's smile is tinged with longing. "You might be surprised."

He's flooded with emotion. Remorse, relief, joy, _anger_ , adoration all vying for recognition. Heartbreak wins out. His face crumples and Link coaxes him gently into his arms. He winds up with his face pressed into Link's shoulder, tears soaking into denim.

Exhaustion peaks and it's all he can do to lean on Link. He's a little disgruntled with himself, utterly torn apart and held together by one man. It's nothing new. Link has always been the center of his world – he's always been at the mercy of his gravitational pull.

He's finally cried out. He can't breathe. His face is wet and there's snot in his beard. The only energy left in him is to stare askance, red-rimmed and puffy, at the cause and the cure to all his pain. His throat doesn't want to let him form words. They fall out croaky and broken. "How long?" Deep down, he knows the answer. It's going to gut him to hear it, but he's asked nevertheless.

Link's face, he realizes, is also streaked with tears. He looks as depleted as Rhett feels. "You don't wanna know."

He's shaking his head, rumbling his throat clear before Link's done speaking. His heart can't stand not knowing. "Tell me, please."

"Rhett," he begins to argue, build excuses. The desperation Link finds in his face brings him up short. His voice is small when he continues, "Come on, bo, don't make this hurt anymore than it needs to."

His smile is twisted and bitter. "Can't get much worse, man."

Link hangs his head, defeated. "Middle school. Thought I was jealous of you cause you were dating Lesli. Turns out I was jealous of her for getting to date you."

It feels like a punch to the stomach. If he wasn't out of tears, they'd be falling again. Instead, his face screws up in anguish. He has to lean forward, curled over himself, cradles his head in his hands. "How could we both be so stupid?"

Link's hand gently stroking his hair draws a ragged cry from deep in his chest. Everything that could have been is laid out in stark relief on the floor at his feet. He wants to scream but his energy has been sapped from his soul. His entire being is in agony.

He wants to ask for a kiss. Even if it's only ever the one. He can't decide if it would be like a balm to the ache or a spark to kindling. Regardless, he _wants_ it. More than anything. He tries to speak, can't. Clears his throat. Tries again but keeps cutting himself off, “Link can we – Just once – I mean, can I –?” He huffs, closes his eyes. “Can I kiss you?” A ragged breath. “Just. Just the once, please, Link. Pl–”

A soft hand on his cheek stops the pleading, brings his unfocused gaze up to bright, shimmering blue eyes. Before he can unstick his throat, the lips he’s been dreaming of for decades are on his. Chaste at first, easy so as not to spook.

The sound gets caught in Rhett's throat and he can't get his hand up quick enough to curl around Link's neck. His fingertips rustle through the soft hairs at his nape as he moves to deepen their kiss. He's a little insistent, encouraging Link to open his mouth to him; it's met with only a second's consideration before complying. He finds his tongue following the familiar sharp points of his teeth.

Those teeth nip on his tongue and he gasps, rearing back a bit in shock. His eyes struggle to focus on Link's face so close. Link doesn't let him get far, chases right after him to close the space between them again.

He changes the angle and has an involuntary twitch as Rhett's facial hair tickles his upper lip. He laughs, breathless, "Yer beard's gettin' me."

Rhett mumbles an insincere apology into his mouth, eager to delve back in.

It takes a while but they finally fall apart, just far enough to talk but still close enough to breathe one another's air. Link sighs, a small thing, eyes shut. "What now, bo?"

He's managed to keep this question from his head until now. It's like another knife to the gaping wound. He can't hold back the small, pained sound. Link's fingers absently stroking the length of his neck, a gesture meant to soothe, increases the pain twofold. He's realizing now how unwise his request truly was. His eyebrows are deeply furrowed as he lets their foreheads rest together, resigned. "Nothing to do, is there?"

"Maybe we could – ."

"Stop. We can't do that. Not with Jesse and Christy and the kids." He contradicts his words, pulls Link closer, loathe to let this moment end.

Link lets himself be drawn in, but instead of more kisses, he tucks his chin over Rhett's shoulder, arms folding around his shivering form. "I know you're right. Just hurts." He rubs Rhett's back. His tone is quiet and small, "Love you so much, b- bo." He barely holds back the _baby_ that yearns to roll off his tongue.

Rhett's breath hitches. Gosh, he's not sure he can do this. "I know, I love you, too." His voice quivers, delicate and raw. He wants to get mad, yell and scream and pitch a fit. How is he supposed to function now, knowing what he does now. It’s incomprehensible. He nearly laughs in relief, thinking about his upcoming therapy appointment. This one’s gonna be a doozy.

“You laughin’?”

His filter is so far removed, he must have actually let his emotion out. “Thinkin’ about talkin’ to my therapist about this.”

He snorts quietly, right into Rhett’s ear. Silence falls, heavy but not uncomfortable. Never uncomfortable between them. Just like they never say hello or goodbye because it would be like saying it to yourself, it's hard to be awkward on your own. "It's late, I should get going."

Rhett clears his throat, sniffs. "Yeah." If his letting go of Link, backing away, is delayed, neither of them mention it.

Link is standing, rubbing his hands restlessly against his thighs. "You comin'?"

"Nah. I still want to finish this."

A nod. "Don't work yourself to the bone, brother."

"Too late." His mouth goes crooked. Link knows better, is familiar with his workaholic ways by now.

His hands quiver, kind of hover, a desire to reach out. He thinks better of it. Anything he has to say is already a given between the two of them.

Rhett waves him out the door, stares at it until he can hear Link's car start outside and pull away. His eyes blink wetly. He's reeling, trying to wrap his head around everything that's happened in the last hour. He finds himself autopiloting through his original task, the hum of rain numbing his mind. As he's preparing to leave, closing window after window until the only one remaining is the picture of them with his Dynasty returns. He hunches over, hand in his beard.

He traces their grinning faces, lost in his own head. They never knew it at the time, too close to the sun, too farsighted to see that in those moments they had nothing but they had it all.


End file.
